REPORTED

SPEECH
(ESTILO
INDIRECTO)
INTRODUCTION

There are two ways of relating what a person has said: direct and indirect.
• In direct speech we repeat the original speaker’s exact words:

He said, “I have lost my umbrella.”

➢ Remarks thus repeated are placed between inverted commas, and a comma is placed immediately before the remark. Direct speech is
found in conversations in books, in plays and in quotations.

• In indirect speech we give the exact meaning of a remark or a speech, without necessarily using the speaker’s
exact words:
He said (that) he had lost his umbrella.
• There is no comma after say in indirect speech.
• that can usually be omitted after say and tell + object. But it should be kept after other verbs: complain,
explain, object, point out, protest etc.
NECESSARY CHANGES:
PRONOUNS AND ADJECTIVES
A. First and second person pronouns and possessive adjectives normally change to the third person except when the
speaker is reporting his own words. (I = he, she; me = him, her; my = his, her; mine = his, hers; we = they...)
She said, “he’s my son”. ➔ She said that he was her son.
“I’m ill”, she said. ➔ She said that she was ill.
B. THIS / THESE
• This used in time expressions usually becomes that. These becomes those.
She said, “She’s coming this week”. ➔ She said that she was coming that week.
• This, these used as pronouns can become it, they/them.
He came back with two knives and said, “I found these beside the king’s bed”. ➔ He said he had found them
beside the king’s bed.
He said, “We will discuss this tomorrow”. ➔ He said that they would discuss it (the matter) the next day.
NECESSARY CHANGES:
EXPRESSIONS OF TIME AND PLACE
A. Adverbs and adverbial phrases of time change as follows: “I saw her the day before yesterday”, he said.
DIRECT SPEECH REPORTED SPEECH ➔ He said he’d seen her two days before.

today that day

yesterday the day before “I’ll do it tomorrow”, he promised.
the day before yesterday two days before ➔ He promised that he would do it the next
day.
tomorrow the next day/the following day
the day after tomorrow in two day’s time
She said, “My father died a year ago”.
next week/year etc. the following week/year etc.
➔ She said that her father had died a year
last week/year etc. the previous week/year etc.
before/the previous year.
a year etc. ago a year before/the previous year
NECESSARY CHANGES:
EXPRESSIONS OF TIME AND PLACE
B. But if the speech is made and reported on the same day these time changes are not necessary:
At breakfast this morning he said, “I’ll be very busy today”. ➔ At breakfast this morning he said that he would
be very busy today.

C. Here can become there:

At the station he said, “I’ll be here again tomorrow”. ➔ He said that he’d be there again the next day.
STATEMENTS

A. Indirect speech can be introduced by a verb in a present tense: He says that ... This is usual when we are:
a. reporting a conversation that is still going on

b. reading a letter and reporting what it says

c. reading instructions and reporting them
d. reporting a statement that someone makes very often, e.g. Tom says that he’ll never get married.

When the introductory verb is in a present, present perfect or future tense we can report the direct speech
without any change of tense:
PAUL (phoning from the station): I’m trying to get a taxi.
ANN (to Mary, who is standing beside her): Paul says he is trying to get a taxi.
STATEMENTS
B. But indirect speech is usually introduced by a verb in the past tense. Verbs in the direct speech have then to
be changed into a corresponding past tense. The changes are shown in the following table.
QUESTIONS
A. When we turn direct questions into indirect speech, the following changes are necessary:
a. tenses, pronouns and possessive adjectives, and adverbs of time and place change as in statements.
b. the interrogative form of the verb changes to the affirmative form.
c. the question mark is omitted in indirect questions.
B. If the introductory verb is say, it must be changed to a verb of inquiry, e.g. ask, wonder, want to know etc.
He said, “Where is the station?” ➔ He asked where the station was.

YES/NO QUESTIONS
If there is no question word, if or whether must be used:
“Is anyone there?” he asked ➔ He asked if/whether anyone was there.

WH- QUESTIONS
If the direct question begins with a question word (when, where, who, how, why etc.) the question word is repeated in the indirect
question:
He said, “Why didn’t you put on the brake?” ➔ He asked (her) why she hadn’t put on the brake.
She said, “What do you want?” ➔ She asked (them) what they wanted.
COMMANDS, REQUESTS, ADVICE

Direct command: He said, “Lie down, Tom”.

Indirect command: He told Tom to lie down.

Indirect commands, requests, advice are usually expressed by a verb of command/request/advice + object +
infinitive.
A. The following verbs can be used: advise, ask, beg, command, order, remind, tell, warn etc.
He said, “Get your coat, Tom!” ➔ He told Tom to get his coat.

B. Negative commands, requests etc. are usually reported by not + infinitive:

“Don’t swim out too far, boys”, I said ➔ I warned/told the boys not to swim out too far.
OFFERS AND SUGGESTIONS
A. OFFERS “Shall I bring you some tea?” could be reported He offered to bring me some tea.
B. SUGGESTIONS “Shall we meet at the theatre? could be reported He suggested meeting at the theatre.

➢ Advise / invite / offer+ to-infinitive

➢ Suggest / recommend +
OTHER ASPECTS
A. MUST: after a past reporting verb, must does not usually change:
He said, “It must be pretty late, I really must go”. ➔ He said that it must be pretty late and he really must
go.
• had to is also possible in reported speech, but this is really the past of have to, not must.
He said, “I have to go. I have an appointment in half an hour” ➔ He said that he had to go because he had
an appointment in half an hour.
B. MODAL VERBS: Past modal verbs (could, might, ought to, should, used to, etc. ) do not normally change in reported
speech.
He said, “I might come”. ➔ He said that he might come.
He said, “I would help him if I could”. ➔ He said that he would help him if he could.
He said, “You needn’t wait”. ➔ He said that I needn’t wait.
C. CONDITIONALS: Conditional sentences type two remain unchanged.
He said, “If my children were older I would emigrate”. ➔ He said that if his children were older he would
emigrate.
SAY AND TELL AS INTRODUCTORY VERBS
Say and tell with indirect speech
• Indirect statements are normally introduced by say or tell + indirect object.
Say + to + indirect object is possible but less usual than tell + indirect object.
He said (to me) he’d just heard the news.
He told me that he’d just heard the news.

• Note also tell ... how/about:

He told us how he had crossed the mountains.
He told us about crossing the mountains.

He told us about his journeys.

OTHER INTRODUCTORY VERBS